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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. perch — the fish
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. stock — goods
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. degree — temperature
  10. game — a match
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mug — a face
  13. bass — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. court — for sport
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mug — a cup
  23. stock — shares
  24. mug — to rob

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com